Hana Ko
Location: Lamia Scale Guild, With the Children.
Mood: Cheerful
Hana smiled softly as the other children finished their meal and she quickly swept up the plates and carried them into the kitchen to be washed, along with the pot that she had brought out, losing her apron on the return trip. She smiled to the children and Maria, gently ushering them from their seats. "Come on, come on..time for naps." Hana said to them all. Some of them 'aw'ed again, but Hana could tell they had become sleepy after eating, and smiled, silencing them all gently as she moved them away from the kitchen and towards their bedrooms, which were just off the left wing of the guild.
Each bed was nicely sized, and were stacked, exactly like bunk beds, and each child filed into them, with a bed that was Hana's being all the way in the back, larger than the rest. She preferred to be near them just in case they needed anything. Smiling to them all, she sat down on her bed, and Maria immediately crawled up and sat on her lap. Hana sighed gently and rubbed her head, knowing she was quite close to her, which made Hana happy, certainly, but she would have to grow up eventually, and that was a day that Hana dreaded. She smiled to the children with Maria on the lap. "So, what story would you like to hear tonight, children?" She asked them with a smile. Maria instantly chimed up, "The story about the dragon!"She said with a happy smile. Some of the children agreed, while a few chimed in about the story of the robot. Hana smiled softly, "Alright, alright..most of you want to hear about the dragon again...so, we'll do that one now, and save the robot story for later tonight when it's bed time, ok?" She asked them.
Some of the children whined a little, but soon agreed with her, nodding their heads and slowly laying down while watching her. Hana smiled and held out her hands, and her blood red water surged forth, forming into shapes on the floor for the children to see. The water formed into all kinds of shapes, forming into a dragon and a small girl. The Dragon stumbled upon the girl one day, and took her home. She raised the girl as her own, and taught her magic as well. One day, the Dragon disappeared, leaving the girl alone. Crying and alone, she ran from her home in the dragon's cave to find the world out side, and a guild that took her in, who's symbol looks suspiciously like the one for Lamia Scale.
Over time, the girl grew up into a young woman, who fought hard for her guild, and finally found her prince charming."And the young woman lived happily ever after, with many children..." Hana finished. She smiled to the kids, who had all gone to sleep..all, but Maria, who looked up at her and smiled. "That was good, Miss Hana....but...can..can I hear the special story?...A-About my parents?" She asked softly, smiling to her, flashing Hana those deadly puppy dog eyes that all children seemed to have tucked away. Hana couldn't help but smile, and nodded gently. "Of course, Maria...I know it's your favorite..." She said gently, bringing up her hands in front of Maria's face, her palms up, where water began to swirl and take shape.
"Once upon a time, there were two people..a man, and a woman. Their names were Felicia, and Samuel. The two were part of Lamia scale, and deeply in love with each other. They were also highly skilled mages, two of the best in the guild. One day, Felicia and Samuel heard of an evil man who was terrorizing the country side. This man's name was Zeref, just like the evil mage of lore. Fearing the worst, the guild master had Felicia and Samuel go check out the man, to make sure if he was the real Zeref or not." Hana's voice was soft and soothing, as the water swirled and changed, taking shape along with her words to illustrate the story for Maria, as it had so many times before, and would so many times again in the future,"The two, Felicia and Samuel, found that the evil man was not the real Zeref, but he was terrifying all the same, ravaging the country side with his evil magic...So, telling the guild master this, they were tasked with bringing him in or kill him at any costs. So they prepared, for three days, and three nights, getting ready to face the man." Hana's water continued to swirl around, creating more and more scenes from it's depths.
"On the fourth day, Felicia and Samuel went to face the man, calling him out on his evil deeds. The man scoffed and laughed at them, telling them that they were the evil ones. He said that all he was doing was bringing balance to the world, that people must be sacrificed for the greater good. Felicia and Samuel shook their heads, and told the man that he was wrong, that there was always a way to avoid sacrificing a life, and that they were there to stop him. The man challenged them, and they fought." Hana said, her words fluid from having told the story so many times. Maria seemed spellbound by her water, which was still swirling, showing the clash between Felicia, Samuel, and the evil Zeref, "The fight raged on for five days, a back and forth struggle, good versus evil...but eventually, the victor was declared...it was Felicia and Samuel who had won the day, but with his dying breath, the mage struck them down with a secret black spell. Dying, Felicia and Samuel lay in each other's arms, an embrace that they would later be found in." Hana said, her lips quivering a bit as a tear fell from her eye, and onto Maria's hair.
"But...all was not lost, for the two had died protecting what they cherished most...Fiore, and their small daughter, who was still at the guild..a small seed of hope for the future that they had died protecting, so that she may grow up and make the world realize that ever life is precious..." Hana's tears were starting to fall freely now, something that always happened at the end of this particular story. Maria looked up at her, and gently touched her cheek. "That girl was me, wasn't it?" She asked softly. Hana could only nod and smile, despite her tears. "Yes maria..that little girl was you." Hana said to her with a soft smile, her tears still falling. Maria gently rubbed them away, and looked into her eyes. "Miss Hana...why do you always cry after this story?"Maria asked, not for the first time, but children could be forgiven for forgetting things."Because they were very close to me, Maria...just like you are." She said with a tender smile, hugging the little girl to her. It was true...Maria's parents had been very close to her, but the reason Hana cried during this particular tale wasn't because of that...it was because she was lying to Maria, a lie that she had been keeping up ever since she had told Maria how her parents died.
How else could she get through the day? Maria would hate her if she knew the truth...Hana knew she would hate her if she ever found out that it was Hana who had killed her parents. Hana knew that she would have to tell her eventually, and that truth tore at her inside. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, but the one who has to do the deed is the one that has to live with the consequences.
